I've had the parts for Kapalczyski's fixed fan mod (
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=51618&hilit=fixed) occupying space in my garage for quite some time now and in a fit of desiring to "do" something I went ahead and installed it just before my GDE turbo install road trip to geordi's. So what can I report:
1) fan install went fine once I got the old fan broken loose. Lots of futile banging even with the Lisle pneumatic fan removal tool until I put the short end of a ca. 3/8" allen wrench in one of the 2 small holes in the fan mount base to use as a stop against the hidden mounting nut after which things went well. The spacer washers are critical in order to clear the front of the AC and I did use a couple of wire ties to retain the fan shroud nuts in the radiator clips to prevent loss in future work.
2) fan performance - vehicle warms up to and stays at operating temperature just fine although I did notice an occasional tendency for a temperature drop of ca. 25 degrees F (from ca. 200 to ca. 176) when at a traffic light with no AC running (ambient ca. 75 degrees F) and no apparent impact on fuel economy.
3) fan noise - nothing at idle, noticeable but not too obtrusive whine between 1,500 and 2,000rpm with radio and AC off and windows open on surface streets at under 45-50mph, but at highway speed with windows up (60mph/1,700 rpm) there is only a hint of fan whine even on "quiet" pavement. In fact on the return trip I barely noticed the fan noise at all.
4) will I keep it? - I probably will for a while but permanently I don't know. Pros-it moves a ton of air and will never break. Cons-a bit of fan noise. That said IMHO it's ideal for a vehicle that sees lots of hot weather (think Arizona Central Valley hot) and/or does lots of highway towing.
Fan shroud - a well know pain to have to remove this with the fan so part of this project was to cure that problem. Options I considered included 1) the geordi/lgoodbar mod which is to simply cut the shroud in half horizontally just below the retaining nuts and only install the top half; 2) irunmiles' 2 piece mod (
viewtopic.php?f=98&t=64278&p=709322#p709322); 3) run without a fan (some have done so but I'm not trying that); 4) run without the shroud; and 5) the "Aussie" mod (post #16 at
http://www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/sho ... hp?t=76201). I elected to do the "Aussie" mod with one minor modification. I made the exact same cuts using a hand held hacksaw (somewhat slow but easy to control) with painters tape to mark the cut line. However, instead of brackets and screws I secured the top and bottom together with 8 wire ties. 4 ties along the top edge being very careful not to drill holes in the back edge of the radiator; 1 tie on each sides' vertical cut, and 1 tie on each sides' horizontal cut where the lower metal bracket is on the "Aussie" mod. Secured this way the top and bottom sections don't move and removal for wide open access to the front of the engine is a simple as clipping the wire ties.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
